1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to communication links, and more particularly to inter- and intra-integrated circuit chip communication using graphene plasmonic communication links.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electromagnetic communication between components of a system at high frequencies is a fundamental requirement for the advancement of high-performance computing and the information technology (IT) industry. The higher the carrier frequency of an electrical signal, the more bandwidth is available, which translates into a larger amount of information that can be transferred.
Current commercial communication systems operate at frequencies below 80 GHz. For signal frequencies above a few 100 GHz, the AC current in a metal wire is subject to strong damping, and losses associated with signal progression limit the use of communication methods that rely on electrical transport. An alternative method is using antenna systems attached to system components that communicate wirelessly through emission and detection of electromagnetic radiation. For multiple closely spaced transmitter-receiver systems, however, the interference (cross-talk) between the different signals deteriorates the overall performance and limits practical applications. Moreover, although the dimensions of an antenna are inversely proportional to its optimum radiating frequency, even at 200 GHz, typical antenna dimensions would be of the order of tens of millimeters. This is a very large form factor taking into account that a microprocessor would fit in the same dimensions.